Definition
The Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite index, published annually by the civil society organization Transparency International, which measures perceptions of corruption in the public sector. First released in 1995, it is the best known and highly impactful corruption measurement tool. The CPI scores countries around the world on expert’s perception of corruption, drawing on data from existing surveys. A country’s score leads to its rank within the CPI, indicating its position relative to the other countries included in the CPI.
The CPI helped putting corruption on the international agenda by illustrating the state of corruption worldwide, thus supporting anti-corruption efforts. The CPI has also been credited as the first systematic attempt to compare corruption across a wide range of countries.
Over time, the CPI has faced various criticism, including its reliance on perception-based measures only, the representativeness of its source data, or more generally its...
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References
Álvarez-Díaz, M., Saisana, M., Montalto, V., & Tacao Moura, C. (2018). Corruption perceptions index 2017 statistical assessment. European Commission JRC Technical Reports. https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC113251/jrc113251_jrc_audit_of_the_corruption_perceptions_index.pdf
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Transparency International (TI). (2012). Corruption perceptions index 2012: An updated methodology. https://www.transparency.org/files/content/pressrelease/2012_CPIUpdatedMethodology_EMBARGO_EN.pdf
Transparency International (TI). (2019). Corruption perceptions index 2019: Short methodology note. https://www.transparency.org/cpi2019
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Further Readings
Andersson, S., & Heywood, P. (2009). The politics of perception: Use and abuse of transparency International's approach to measuring corruption. Political Studies, 57(4), 746–767. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2008.00758.
Baumann, H. (2019). The corruption perception index and the political economy of governing at a distance. International Relations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117819897312.
Clark, A. K. (2017). Measuring corruption: Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’. In C. Rabe-Hemp & N. Lind (Eds.), Corruption, discretion, and accountability: Consequences for U.S. politics (pp. 3–22). Emerald Insight Publisher.
Heywood, P., & Rose, J. (2014). “Close but no cigar”: The measurement of corruption. Journal of Public Policy, 34(3), 507–529.
Olken, B. A. (2009). Corruption perceptions vs. corruption reality. Journal of Public Economics, 93(7), 950–964.
Gilman, S. C. (2018). To understand and to misunderstand how corruption is measured: Academic research and the Corruption Perception Index. Public Integrity, 20(Suppl 1), S74–S88. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2018.1472974.
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Heide, M. (2020). Corruption Perceptions Index. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C., Skorkjær Binderkrantz, A. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_76-1
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